Hi Everyone, noob to homebrew

Hi everyone from Yorkshire, UK..

Am very new to forums and home brew and stumbled onto this site through searching for answers through Google.

Have completed my first brew of Geordie bitter and almost finished it within a week or so very nice but now flat?

So I am now setting off my next two batches ready for Christmas.
Thanks in advance for any possible questions some of you may answer

kind rgds

Welcome to best place to get any information about brewing. I love this place

Welcome,

You are planning to brew something now, expecting it to be ready for Christmas? I brewed a month ago and am bottling this weekend and HOPING it will be carbed and bottle conditioned by Christmas, and more than likely the won't be.

The reason your "Gordie Bitter" is flat now, more than likely is that it was never truly carbonated to begin with. How long did you let it carb and condition before hand?

How long did you even ferment it for? Methinks you might be rushing things a wee bit. I plan about 2 months from brewing to opening my first bottles.

Revvy said:

Welcome,

You are planning to brew something now, expecting it to be ready for Christmas? I brewed a month ago and am bottling this weekend and HOPING it will be carbed and bottle conditioned by Christmas, and more than likely the won't be.

The reason your "Gordie Bitter" is flat now, more than likely is that it was never truly carbonated to begin with. How long did you let it carb and condition before hand?

How long did you even ferment it for? Methinks you might be rushing things a wee bit. I plan about 2 months from brewing to opening my first bottles.

Click to expand...

Cheers for reply Revvy,

Geordie just add sugar kit fermented for 9 days at correct temp - Moved to barrel with sugar and left for a further 3 weeks as suggested in instructions..

First 5 pints tasted great n started to make your legs wobble however as days gone by its seems flat even when using c02 injector.

2nd batch only been fermenting 5 days and smells lethal? hydro reading same last 2 days?

Well, you will find than many of us will advocate waiting a couple more weeks before bottling. Just because the beer may be done fermenting, doesn't mean that the yeast are done doing work. If left alone, the the yeast like to clean up the byproduct of their fermentation; the stuff that produces off flavors.

Even John Palmer talks about this in How To Bew;

How To Brew said:

Leaving an ale beer in the primary fermentor for a total of 2-3 weeks (instead of just the one week most canned kits recommend), will provide time for the conditioning reactions and improve the beer. This extra time will also let more sediment settle out before bottling, resulting in a clearer beer and easier pouring.

Click to expand...

So for me 7 days is waaaay to soon to bottle.

Revvy said:

Well, you will find than many of us will advocate waiting a couple more weeks before bottling. Just because the beer may be done fermenting, doesn't mean that the yeast are done doing work. If left alone, the the yeast like to clean up the byproduct of their fermentation; the stuff that produces off flavors.

Even John Palmer talks about this in How To Bew;



So for me 7 days is waaaay to soon to bottle.

Click to expand...

Revvy ur a star loving this site already

Will leave for longer before transfer to barrel, I just bought the bin, barrel and kit and cracked on wi it thinking the instruction were to the letter (how wrong am I!)
Cheers bud for the fast response and information (was going to transfer other brew tomorrow)

widowtwanky said:

Revvy ur a star loving this site already

Will leave for longer before transfer to barrel, I just bought the bin, barrel and kit and cracked on wi it thinking the instruction were to the letter (how wrong am I!)
Cheers bud for the fast response and information (was going to transfer other brew tomorrow)

Click to expand...

Generally speaking kit manufacturers, especially kit an kilo manufacturers, are concerned with selling more and more kits NOT with the brewer making the best beer possible. They know that if they say in the instructions to wait, they may lose some people to hobbies that have more instant gratification, like base jumping.

They also know that the time that a homebrewer will remain buying kits is relatively short...they know that after a few kits, the brewer will either give up, start brewing extract batches from recipes in books and places like this, formulate their own recipes, or go all grain...so they want to sell as many kits as possible to the new brewer before he moves on to bigger and better things.

SO they know that even their beer will taste better if you leave it longer...but they know that in the time you wait you will be reading and learning and be less likely to buy another kit...They can sell three or four kits to you if you follow their directions in the same time frame that listening to us and waiting a month and bottle conditioning for another 3-4 weeks. In the month most of us are letting our beers stay in primary they could sell and have you drinking 4 kits of green beer.

Revvy said:

Generally speaking kit manufacturers, especially kit an kilo manufacturers, are concerned with selling more and more kits NOT with the brewer making the best beer possible. They know that if they say in the instructions to wait, they may loose some people to hobbies that have more instant gratification.

They also know that the time that a homebrewer will remain buying kits is relatively short...they know that after a few kits, the brewer will either give up, start brewing extract batches from recipes in books and places like this, formulate their own recipes, or go all grain...so they want to sell as many kits as possible to the new brewer before he moves on to bigger and better things.

SO they know that even their beer will taste better if you leave it longer...but they know that in the time you wait you will be reading and learning and be less likely to buy another kit...They can sell three or four kits to you if you follow their directions in the same time frame that listening to us and waiting a month and bottle conditioning for another 3-4 weeks.

Click to expand...

Your advice and comments have given me more hope and determination to continue with me brewing home brew beer, I see your point exactly If they told you to take more time and waiting they would not sell as many kits!

I aim to leave my current brews to ferment longer and appreciate a better tasting brew through waiting whilst Im still sitting here drinking the one i made before although flat and not the greatest taste its still giving me a flush to my face, wobble in my legs and pissing like a race horse

Thanks Revvy for advice and time put in reply...Cheers from UK!

widowtwanky said:

Revvy ur a star loving this site already

Click to expand...

widowtwanky said:

Your advice and comments have given me more hope and determination to continue with me brewing home brew beer, I see your point exactly If they told you to take more time and waiting they would not sell as many kits!

Thanks Revvy for advice and time put in reply...Cheers from UK!

Click to expand...

you'll soon learn that "Revvy" is just a term for the whole army of little homebrew helpers that sit in a giant dungeon answering questions on HBT around the clock

Of course, I kid. Revvy is very dedicated to helping out new brewers

AZ_IPA said:

you'll soon learn that "Revvy" is just a term for the whole army of little homebrew helpers that sit in a giant dungeon answering questions on HBT around the clock

Of course, I kid. Revvy is very dedicated to helping out new brewers

Click to expand...

LOL!!!!!

Do I need a Santa Hat?

Revvy said:

LOL!!!!!

Do I need a Santa Hat?

Click to expand...

Isn't there a picture of you in a santa hat passed out against a wall? or was that Big Kahuna?

Welcome